Revolution in Russia2010 Practice Exam Week

Content Knowledge Test

Part 1

Group 1

Peasants. Poverty & hardship in countryside Worked long hours farming small strips of land in villages Peasant life the same as centuries before Peasants didn’t read or write Farming methods inefficient Were serfs and legally belonged to landlord Had hardly any more rights than the landowners’ animals Couldn’t make decisions of their own (marry who & when

they like)

Part 1

Group 2Workers.

Lived in cities (mostly Moscow & St Petersburg) 10% of Russian population by 1914 Worked in factories Lived and worked in slum area surrounding the polluting

factories – in cold, overcrowded barracks Hard life: wages low so couldn’t rent own room 1/3 workers were women: paid even less than men Hardly any safety rules: no workers’ compensation if

injured No unions allowed Tsar Nicholas believed industrial development more

important than workers’ problems Special police guarded and spied on discontented workers

Group 3Rich & middle classVery few people1.5% owned most of Russia’s land & resourcesWealthy nobles & landlords owned huge estates in

the countryGrand mansions & palaces in the cityGlamorous life: ballets, operas, partiesMiddle class = 10% population in 1910Middle class = doctors, lawyers, teachers,

bureaucrats, merchants

Difficulties faced by peasants

Poverty & hardship in countrysideWorked long hours farming small strips of land in

villagesPeasant life the same as centuries beforePeasants didn’t read or writeFarming methods inefficientWere serfs and legally belonged to landlordHad hardly any more rights than the landowners’

animalsCouldn’t make decisions of their own (marry who

& when they like)

Edict of Emancipation

1861 – a law to give serfs freedomPeasants could now decide who and when

to marry, and to leave the estate they worked on

Legally allowed to own land BUT weren’t given the land they had worked on

Despite protests, they were given small amounts of land and had to pay for it

Disappointment about Edict of Emancipation

Gov’t lent peasants $ to buy land but peasants had to make large redemption payments for 49 years

Until land was paid off, mirs would ‘own’ and administer land

Peasants did not own (couldn’t buy or sell) their small strip of land

Paid high taxes – more per hectare than landlordsPeasants flogged if didn’t pay taxes on timePeasants couldn’t afford to support themselves, so

moved to the cities to work in factories

Part 2 – Key words

Industrialisation:A country building up its industry (usually

factories)Western Europe (esp. Britain & Germany)

were the most industrialised Mass-producing productsWorkers in bad conditions, ‘alienated’

from the products they make

RussificationTsar believed every non-Russian (Poles,

Ukrainians, Georgians) should adopt the Russian way of life

50% of the Russian Empire were non-Russian

Non-Russians weren’t taught in their own language in school and couldn’t practice their own religion

AutocracyThe political system in which one-person

rulesNo or little influence of parliamentInherited (just like a king/queen)

SerfdomA person who is the property of a

landownerPeasant, extremely poor in the

countryside

LiberalismA parliamentary government (elections)Freedom of speechPeople are born freeBritain, France, Germany (Western

Europe)

OkhranaSecret police in Tsarist RussiaTsar Nicholas expanded itCould arrest anyone they suspected of

opposing the Tsar or his governmentOkhrana spies everywhere

Russian Orthodox ChurchMain church in RussiaA form of ChristianityRun by the governmentHead of the church appointed by the TsarPriests preached sermons supporting the

governmentGod = Great Father, Tsar = Little Father of

his people

ProletariatCommunist word for workersUnskilledWorked in factories

TsarAutocratic leader of RussiaHad total power Had ministers to give him advice, but when they

told him things he didn’t want to hear, he dismissed them

Used the army to control the people Cossacks broke up protests/riots by slashing them

with swordsNo one was allowed to complain or oppose the

Tsar

PogromsViolent attacks on Jews and Jewish

communitiesStealing possessions, burning houses,

raping & killingBlame all problems on Jewish peoplePart of Easter celebrations in RussiaArmy & police didn’t stop them

Part 3

Political Organisation 1

Liberals Wanted change without violent revolution Believed government could be improved without being

overthrown Possible for Tsar to be part of reform Wanted parliament to be elected by people like in

Britain Constitutional monarchy Middle-class people Kadets = most important liberal political party in 1917

Political Organisation 2SocialistsRevolution, not reformOverthrow the TsarReorganise Russia from top-to-bottomWealth & power should be shared equally3 parties: Socialist Revolutionaries,

Mensheviks, and Bolsheviks

Political Organisation 3Nationalists

Many nationalist organisationsEthnic minority groupsHostile to Russian ruleOpposed RussificationPoles, Jews, Ukrainians and Tartars

Marxism – Idea 1

Most important conflict throughout history was between social classes.

A small ruling class controlled the means of production and became wealthy at the expense of the poor majority.

The capitalists’ wealth comes from profits resulting from the exploitation of an increasingly impoverished mass working class (proletariat).

As the rich become richer and the masses became poorer and alienated from society and the means of production, a time would come when the proletariat would rise up.

Marxism – Idea 2

Marx envisaged an ideal society, a “communist” society. Aspects of communist society, according to his theory:

No social classesNo private ownership of landNo wagesNo state bureaucracyEconomy is owned by the proletariat – the

employees own the wealth they produce

Part 4 - Paragraph

Describe and explain how Marxism/communism might influence groups of Russians to try to improve the lives of their fellow countrymen and women. (2009 NCEA essay question).

A) Describe the ideas of communism.B) what groups of Russians would be

affected by communism? How?